Graduation
by Diabolo Framboise
Summary: Klaus is back in town to wish a happy Graduation to Caroline and to make a confession to her. What is Caroline going to do?


_**Hi everyone!**_

_**This is how I'd like Graduation to go. It was wrapped before last episode so some things are not canon. Thanks for give it a chance anyway.  
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_**This chapter is not beta readed so please remember that English is not my first language and be nice with the mistakes. **_

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Caroline took off her gown with a deep sigh. She was finally graduated as long as her friends, but her genuine satisfaction was tainted with a bittersweet feeling of sadness. She was really proud to have achieved graduation in spite of everything that was going on in her life. However, she couldn't help but think about the people she had missed today.

Her father should have been there to see her graduate. Jeremy should have been there for Elena. Sheila or Abby should have been there for Bonnie. Too many people were missing today and the smile that Caroline had held all day long was not as bright as usual. Caroline tried to comfort herself by thinking about Liz' grin when Caroline had picked up her diploma. At least her mother had been here and she was so obviously proud of her daughter that Caroline felt better.

Caroline's train of thoughts drifted towards the other people missing in her life and her mind finally stopped on Klaus. She hadn't heard anything from him since he had left and she had to admit that she was upset about it. The news of his departure had been an unexpected shock. Caroline hadn't realized how badly she would have wanted a goodbye before she had been confronted to Silas/Klaus the week before.

There was no point in denying neither the jump of her heart nor the contentment that had suddenly coursed through her body when she had seen him. It was only at this moment that Caroline had realized how much she was upset with his absence. But none of this was real. Silas was only toying with her mind and Klaus had obviously moved on.

Caroline couldn't help the clenching of her heart at the thought. Klaus had moved on and it was without her …or that was what she thought until now. Her heart jumped in her chest when she saw the familiar figure approaching her with a slight smile. He was wearing a suit and Caroline's mind immediately drifted to the miss Mystic Falls pageant. It was one of the best moments she had spent with him. She was supposed to be on a mission but she had genuinely enjoyed his presence that day. Klaus reached her and his smile widened.

"Hello, Caroline."

Caroline instinctively smiled back at him, but she suddenly frowned and took a step back.

"How do I know it's you?" she inquired harshly.

Klaus frowned but it took him only a couple of seconds to gather the problem.

"Silas?" he questioned knowingly.

Caroline nodded and Klaus growled.

"Paris, Rome, Tokyo," he offered and Caroline couldn't help but smile.

"Okay, I guess it's you," she acknowledged.

"What happened, love?" Klaus demanded worriedly but Caroline shook her head.

"Nothing that I want to talk about today," she answered decisively. "This is my graduation day. Let's talk about you instead. I thought you were gone for good," Caroline kept going. "A goodbye would have been appreciated by the way," she couldn't help but add. She bit her lips as soon as the words escaped her mouth but it was too late.

"Why do you think I'm here?"

Klaus' voice held a hint of sadness and Caroline' stomach twisted uncomfortably.

"You are here to say goodbye? So you are really leaving for good?" she asked hesitantly.

Klaus inhaled sharply.

"Yes, I am. But I need to talk to you first. Care for a walk?"

Caroline nodded and they started to walk apart from the surrounding students. She noticed that Klaus seemed nervous and it worried her. Klaus didn't do nervous. What was happening? Klaus finally stopped when they were too far for any curious ears and he sighed deeply, rummaging through his hair.

"Something happened a couple of months ago," he declared without preamble. Caroline raised an interrogative eyebrow and Klaus sighed again, fighting the urge to curse. He had no idea how to bring the subject but he finally decided that there was no good way.

"I slept with Hayley," he declared brutally. "She is pregnant."

Caroline's body stiffened as the air entirely left her lungs. What was he saying? She couldn't have heard correctly, could she? It was a joke. A weird, cruel and devastating joke.

Klaus looked helplessly the array of emotions displaying on Caroline's face. Incredulity, shock, anger, incomprehension, sadness. He offered her a couple of minutes of silence to start processing what he was saying before giving her further explanations. In an undertone, he developed tentatively what he had found in New Orleans and why he needed to stay there. When he fell silent again, Caroline had still not pronounced a word and Klaus swallowed nervously. He hated to see her look so completely lost, even more when he knew that he was the one responsible for her distress.

"This is impossible," Caroline finally muttered. "This is absolutely impossible," she repeated more firmly.

Klaus chuckled bitterly.

"Don't worry, my reaction has been exactly the same," he admitted cynically. "But the witches confirmed it and…" Klaus' voice trailed off and he hesitated. "I've heard it," he added lowly. "The heart beat of the baby. I have heard it."

"How can you be sure that the baby is yours?" Caroline asked harshly.

"The witches kept Hayley prisoner during several days to make sure of it. If it hadn't been mine, she would have told them," Klaus elaborated.

Caroline took a deep breath, trying to keep at bay the turmoil of emotions blossoming in her body, but failing quite pitifully. Klaus was about to be a father. A father. Klaus. And Hayley was the mother. Hayley. Of all people. That backstabbing bitch. Klaus. Baby. Hayley. All those words were relentlessly swirling in her mind, trying and failing to make some sense.

"Why are you telling me this?" she finally inquired sharply. "You don't expect my blessing, do you?"

Klaus cringed at her harsh tone.

"Because I wanted you to know why I'm leaving," he answered calmly. "I owed you the truth, Caroline. I want you to know that it doesn't change anything about the way I feel about you. Hayley was a one night stand that I didn't plan on see ever again and it's not because she is pregnant that I like her more. She means nothing to me, Caroline. You are the one I want to be with," he assured almost pleadingly.

Caroline scoffed.

"Yeah, sure," she grumbled. Turning on her heels, she quickly walked away from Klaus but he attached his steps to hers.

"Please, Caroline, wait."

"What do you want me to say? she demanded furiously. "You're leaving! You're gonna be a father! You slept with Hayley! This is awesome, Klaus! Absolutely awesome! Congratulations. And here I was, moping that you didn't say goodbye, and sad at the thought of not seeing you again. How could I have been so stupid?" Caroline rambled angrily between her teeth as she was almost running now, but Klaus grabbed her arm to stop her and spun her around.

"What did you just say?" he breathed.

Caroline brutally shoved his hand away from her arm but she stayed in front of him.

"I said I'm stupid," she hissed.

Klaus growled in frustration and rummaged through his hair once more, completely at loss of what to do or what to say to make Caroline feel better. He kept looking pleadingly at her and Caroline eventually huffed, feeling her anger ebbing away.

"I was sad that you didn't say goodbye," she muttered while looking at her feet. "But now I wonder if it wouldn't have been better," she added bitterly.

Klaus put a hesitant finger under her chin and when she didn't move he slowly raised her face to meet her gaze.

"I'm sorry, Caroline," he said truthfully. "I'm truly sorry but I thought it would be better if you knew why I was leaving. I didn't want to lie to you."

Caroline hesitated but she eventually nodded.

"I prefer to know," she admitted.

Klaus released her chin and took a step back to give her some space. He had something else to tell her and as much as he hated it, he knew he had to do it.

"I have decided to let Tyler come back," he declared.

Caroline sharply lifted her head to look at him with stupefaction.

"What?" she almost yelped.

Klaus shrugged and grunted at the same time, clearly uncomfortable with the subject, but knowing that Caroline needed an explanation.

"I know you love him," Klaus admitted reluctantly. "And I know that you are still mad at me for sending him away and I know that you probably will be happy with him," he kept going even more reluctantly.

The words were so obviously hard to say that Caroline searched for his eyes, trying to read what he was thinking but Klaus turned his gaze away from her.

"I care about you, Caroline," he whispered. "I genuinely care about you and I want you to be happy. I don't want to be selfish with you. You have been through enough lately. If Tyler is the one making you happy, you can tell him to come back."

Klaus' voice trailed off and he hesitated.

"It doesn't mean that I give up on you, Caroline," he clarified more firmly. "My feelings for you are nothing but sincere and I hope that you will give me a chance someday. When you'll be ready."

Caroline couldn't help but scoff.

"How can you say that?" she exclaimed incredulously. "You're gonna be a father!"

"And so what?" Klaus retorted. "I told you, I don't care about Hayley. We are not going to live happily ever after like a Disney family, Caroline. We are not even going to live together. I will take responsibility for the child but it doesn't mean that I'm starting something with Hayley. You are the one I want to be with and it's not going to change any time soon."

Caroline's breath caught in her throat. Klaus' feelings for her were written all over his face and he seemed so vulnerable in that moment that Caroline had to fight a sudden urge to threw herself in his arms to comfort him.

Klaus took a step towards her and placed his hand on her arm.

"Thank you, Caroline," he whispered. "Thank you for not turning your back on me and for being there for me when I needed it. I will never forget it."

Klaus leaned further and Caroline's heart went suddenly mad with the proximity. She closed her eyes as he pressed a soft quick on her cheek and she felt his mouth approach her ear.

"I love you," he breathed in her ear and with a last squeeze on her arm, the warmth of his body close to hers was gone.

When Caroline opened her eyes again, Klaus was quickly walking away. During a moment, Caroline stayed glued to her spot, completely numb. Her mind seemed unable to process everything that had happened on the last half hour. Klaus being here. Klaus telling her that he was going to be a father. Klaus allowing Tyler return. Klaus admitting that he loved her. She felt shattered.

How was she supposed to process all of this in such a short notice? What was she supposed to do with the turmoil of emotions ragging into her right now? How was she supposed to think? How was she supposed to simply _breathe _for God' sake? Klaus disappeared behind a tree and something snapped in Caroline. She couldn't let him go away like this. Not after everything they had shared lately. She couldn't. Abruptly getting out of her trance, Caroline rushed to the direction that Klaus had taken and shouted his name. She barely checked that nobody could see her before using her vamp speed to reach the tree where he had disappeared. He was nowhere to be seen and Caroline threw panicked looks all over her.

"Klaus!" she shouted again. "Klaus!"

"Caroline?"

Caroline spun on her heels to see Klaus looking at her with concern.

"What is it, love?" he asked.

For once in her life Caroline didn't think. She didn't analyze, she didn't supposed, she didn't ponder. She acted. She dashed to Klaus, and gripping his face in her hands, she pressed her lips against his.

Klaus froze, completely caught off guard by this unexpected display of affection. He had expected a lot of things from Caroline today, regarding his confession. Confusion, anger, maybe disappointment had been anticipated but certainly not a kiss.

Feeling Klaus unmoving against her, Caroline slid her hands around the nape of his neck, gripping his short hair in her fingers and pressed herself closer to him. The feeling of her body against his made Klaus suddenly snap out of his trance. He snaked his arms around her waist, anchoring one hand firmly on her hip and sliding the other one along her back to hold the back of her neck. Klaus secured her face against his as he delved into her mouth, urgently deepening the kiss and feverishly tasting her.

Caroline moaned at the feeling of emergency that suddenly took over and clutch to Klaus' shoulders for support. Her knees weakened as her head spin faster and faster with each sinful caress of his tongue. Feeling Caroline struggling to stay upright, Klaus quickly backed her down against a tree and pinned her to it, pressing the weight of his body against hers. Caroline gasped and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer and closer until she could feel every inch of his muscular frame against her soft curves. Klaus roamed his hands along her sides, his mouth still hard and demanding on hers, urging her to completely give herself over to his embrace.

Klaus eventually let go of Caroline's mouth and rested his forehead against hers, completely out of breath. Caroline whimpered at the loss and pressed several more slow kisses on his lips before lifting her head to meet his forehead. She was still fighting to regulate her heavy breathing when Klaus finally spoke.

"What the kiss was for?" he inquired a little huskily.

Caroline closed her eyes and tried to organize her thoughts. She had kissed him on an impulse, because she didn't want to let him go. But was it really an impulse? Hadn't she already thought about kissing him on multiple occasions? What should she say? How honest should she be? Caroline was fully aware that her answer right now could be a life changing one.

Klaus seemed to feel her inner struggle and stroke her cheek with the back of his hand.

"Please talk to me, Caroline," he murmured. "I need to know what you think. Please, love."

Caroline opened her eyes and met his gaze, so sincere and so vulnerable, as always when he was looking at her and it was her undoing.

"I care about you, Klaus," she confessed a little shakily. "I have tried not to but I can't shake you and it drives me crazy. It hurt me when I thought you left without a goodbye and it made me realize that I don't want you to be out of my life."

Caroline paused and looked at Klaus with uncertainty. His whole face had lit up at her confession, but his gaze was still cautious like if he knew that things were not that simple. Caroline sighed and without thinking about it, she pressed a lingering kiss on Klaus' lips. She roamed her hands on his shoulders and along his chest, finally sliding her arms under his jacket to wrap them around his torso.

"I need closure with Tyler, Klaus," Caroline started again very lowly. "The end of my relationship with him was not my choice. He had been ripped away from me and as long as I won't know how things would have turned with him if he had stayed, I will be unable to move on completely. I need him back in my life so I know where I stand. As much as I'm attracted to you, I need for this breakup to be my choice and not something independent from my will."

Klaus had stiffened as soon as he had heard Tyler's name and Caroline placed her head on his chest, drawing comforting patterns on his back.

"Do you understand?" she whispered. Klaus kept silent a few more seconds before he exhaled deeply. Mimicking Caroline's actions, he slid his hands under her jacket to wrap his arms around her.

"I understand," he admitted reluctantly. "I don't like it but I understand."

Caroline straightened up to look at him.

"If you agree with this, I'm gonna take up on your offer to have him back here but I'm also gonna take up on your 'maybe one day' offer," she declared. "I meant what I said, Klaus. I care about you and I don't want you out of my life. But I need to sort some things out and so do you. You are about to be a father. We both have things to deal with before we can consider something, whatever it is, between us."

Klaus groaned and buried his head in Caroline's neck. He knew that she was right but the idea of leaving her now was unbearable. He had been ready to do it earlier because he thought that it was what she wanted. However, now that she was in his arms and now that he knew the taste of her lips, it was a whole new problem. Caroline settled her chin on his shoulder, waiting for his decision and relishing the way his scent made her feel safe.

Klaus finally straightened up.

"Alright, I agree with this," he declared. "I'm gonna go as it was planned and you're gonna call Tyler back here and we'll see where we go from here."

Caroline smiled and lifted her face to kiss Klaus tenderly. The struggle was so obvious in his face that it hurt her. She knew how much it cost him to agree to something he had absolutely no control over. Basically, he had just agreed on losing her if Tyler was finally what she wanted. He had no way to know if she will come around or not. It was obviously killing him, but once more, he was willing to do it for her. Because he understood that she needed it.

Caroline kissed him again, unable to stop herself to press her lips against his and trying to pour her gratitude in her kisses.

"I have to go now, love, otherwise I will never go," Klaus whispered in her ear.

Caroline didn't fail to detect the sadness of his voice and she slid her arms around his neck to hold him close to her a last time. Klaus gritted his teeth as his eyes fluttered close. It was agony to feel Caroline so close to him and having no idea of when or if he was going to see her again. Unable to stop himself, Klaus eventually decided to indulge in the feeling of her body against his for a moment. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her as close as he could, breathing in her scent and relishing the way her body was molded against his.

"Can I call you?" Caroline asked almost shyly.

Klaus smiled.

"Anytime, love."

And with a last quick kiss on her lips, he was gone.

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Tyler was back in town three days after graduation. And he left again three months later. As happy as they were to find each other again, Caroline and Tyler both realized that they were not meant to be. They had been apart for a long time and despite a big tenderness for the other, their lives had taken a different path. Caroline was relieved to had the chance of proper closure. It allowed her to look Tyler go away with no regrets. She was now completely sure that neither her mind nor her heart belonged with him anymore. As soon as he had left, Caroline did something that she had itched to do for three months.

She called Klaus.

"Caroline, what a nice surprise. To what do I owe the pleasure?" he asked cheerfully when he picked up.

Caroline took a deep breath and decided that there was no point on beating around the bush.

"I broke up with Tyler," she responded a little shakily.

There was a sharp inhaling on the other end of the line and when Klaus spoke, his voice was very cautious.

"I would say that I am sorry but we both know that it would be a lie. May I ask the reason why you broke up with him?"

Caroline swallowed but once again, she decided that there was no point on subtlety.

"You," she breathed.

As a shocked silence greeted her announcement, Caroline's nerves betrayed her and she started to ramble.

"I needed to see Tyler again and I saw him and then I realized that he wasn't the one I want. I can't stop thinking about you, Klaus. Every time he tried to take me in his arms or to kiss me, the only thing I could think about was how much I wanted that it was your arms and your lips and…"

"Caroline," Klaus tried to stop her rant but Caroline erratically kept going on and on until Klaus' voice slammed in her ear.

"Caroline!"

Caroline abruptly kept quiet and realized that she was terrified of hear what he wanted to say. Her heart clench as her stomach painfully twisted. What if everything had changed for him during those last months? What if he had change his mind about her?

"Are you listening to me?" Klaus demanded firmly.

Caroline nodded and remembered that Klaus couldn't see her.

"Yes," she answered with a small voice.

"You are going to pack a bag, say goodbye to your mother and take the first plane for New Orleans," Klaus instructed.

It was not a request. It was a command. Klaus' voice was admitting no contradiction, but oddly, Caroline noticed that she didn't really mind especially when his voice softened again.

"You can't expect from me to live another day without seeing you now that you have told me the way you feel."

The claws that were crushing her heart suddenly loosened and Caroline started to laugh at the same time that she started to cry.

"Okay," she breathed on the phone. "Okay, Klaus."

"Caroline?"

"Yes?"

"Hurry up, my love."

Klaus hung up the phone and fifteen hours later, Caroline was throwing herself in his arms.

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_**Thank you very much for reading. Please let me know what you think, your reviews really fueled my inspiration.** _


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